"Hopefully my father was right when he said, 'Boy, you have a head like a rock,' " the former Broncos defensive back said.

Foley, 59, was a starting cornerback for Denver's first Super Bowl team of 1977, and he and his Orange Crush teammates and league contemporaries are among those who theoretically will benefit from the NFL's proposed $765 million settlement with former players involving concussions and brain injuries. The potential agreement, involving many lawsuits and announced last month, enables former players to be examined and be compensated if they are deemed to have brain injuries.

"I think the NFL had to do something," said Foley, a Denver-area resident and a partner with former Broncos linebacker Bob Swenson in the development firm FS Land. "I think it's a serious problem that isn't going to go away. It's only going to get worse as the guys are getting bigger, stronger, faster. You're hitting a whole host of people coming into their 60s and 70s who are experiencing some extreme difficulties. The settlement certainly is a step in the right direction."

Foley and other members of that landmark 1977 Broncos team are approaching their 60s. They're also typical of that NFL generation, with the sample of former Broncos interviewed indicating they have had physical problems in retirement and have mixed experiences and opinions involving the toll of concussions and head trauma.

Foley and Swenson, who took a pounding working against tight ends as a strongside linebacker, have been examined in the Los Angeles area by Dr. Daniel Amen, who is conducting a study of former NFL players and brain trauma.

"I have a baseline with him," Foley said. "I had a brain scan back three or four years ago. I want to keep in touch with him and see how things are progressing. They can see depression, dementia, and the parts and the regions of the brain where it happens. They can start treating some things.

"I saw some improvements in my brain scan, with six months of being on his neutroceuticals, a lot of fish oil, a lot of basically brain foods that pump up the brain. I'm a believer in that. We take care of our heart like that and our bodies through exercise, but we really do nothing for our brains. That's the last frontier for medicine right now."

"Bell rung" back in the day

Foley is typical of players from his generation in that he doesn't believe he ever was categorized as having suffered a concussion.

"I'm sure I did," he said. "I don't think they really called it that. They basically said you got your bell rung. (In a collision with) Earl Campbell, I was out for at least a second. I'm sure that would be classified as a concussion. But I never didn't know where I was, ever."

Foley's fellow 1977 starting cornerback, Louis Wright, 60, is a teacher and coach at Gateway High School in Aurora.

"Oh, I think everybody who played had concussions," Wright said. "I've had my fair share."

He smiled and added, "You can tell it, right?"

Wright said he would consider being examined, was going to await developments, but wasn't bitter about the issue.

"I don't think anybody would relive their lives and go back and say they wouldn't do it again," he said. "It was a fantastic experience, and I wouldn't trade it for the world."

Orange Crush linebacker Randy Gradishar, 61, said he also was awaiting details of the NFL settlement. He has had considerable physical issues in retirement, including knee replacements and shoulder surgeries.

Adept at stopping the run in short-yardage situations, Gradishar's head, and helmet, took poundings.

"I saw stars. I was kind of woozy, sure," he said. "But I never actually was knocked out, and I'd say 95 percent of the players who were parts of the lawsuits were never knocked out and didn't have to be carried off the field. But there's certainly potential for neurological issues down the road."

On the 1977 team's offensive side of the ball, quarterback Craig Morton, 70, and wide receiver Haven Moses, 67, formed the famed "M&M Connection." Moses still lives in Denver and has made great strides in his recovery from a 2003 stroke. He said he hasn't, and won't, attempt to link his stroke to head trauma suffered as a player, and indicated he probably wouldn't seek to be examined as part of the settlement.

"If I had chosen to go down that path, I would have gone down it earlier," Moses said. "I will support the other alums who are challenging and trying to right a wrong. I would have to say I probably had three concussions. I can remember waking up and being buzzed and dinged a few times. Everybody has their opinion about this, and mine is that I hope this turns out well for those who really need it. I'm in a position where I don't really need it. Five years down the road? Anything can happen."

"If I think about it, I'm in pain"

Morton offered dark humor when talking about the settlement, noting: "I've been examined for years, and I'm still going through it. In fact, I've got another bunch of tests coming up. I don't think I really understand the settlement yet, but I've got so many diagnoses, I have plenty of backup.

"I've got numbness of the feet, shoulder problems, neck issues. If I think about it, I'm in pain, so I'd just as soon leave it alone. I would like to think a lot of the issues have to do with concussions, but I don't know if I ever was diagnosed with a concussion, because you had never heard of it. You just went back. You'd see stars, but if I could get up and get back to the huddle, I played."

At least two members of Denver's 1977 team, guard Tom Glassic and running back Otis Armstrong, went through long battles to receive disability benefits. Glassic's issues mostly are with his back, Armstrong's with his neck and spine.

Ex-Broncos linebacker Karl Mecklenburg was a plaintiff in one of the lawsuits — Hostetler vs. NFL — and likens possible concussion effects to a "time bomb" for league alumni.

Without admitting guilt or assuming blame, the NFL's proposed settlement with former players at least provides potential avenues for diagnosis and compensation down the road as well.

"That's what a lot of players are concerned about, what's in the future," Foley said. "We're just turning 60 and if you're struggling now, what's it going to be at 70?"

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